Written Answers Tuesday 29 January 2008

Scottish Executive

Alcohol Misuse

Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many incidents of alcohol-related violence were reported in (a) Aberdeen City, (b) Grampian and (c) Angus from 2003 to 2007.

Kenny MacAskill: No information on whether or not particular crimes or incidents are "alcohol-related" is held centrally.

Alcohol Misuse

Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people convicted of alcohol-related offences in (a) Aberdeen and (b) Grampian from 2003 to 2007 received an antisocial behaviour order or were sentenced to (i) a prison sentence of six months or less, (ii) a prison sentence of more than six months, (iii) another custodial sentence or (iv) community service.

Kenny MacAskill: The available information is given in the table below. Civil antisocial behaviour orders cannot be broken down to the level of detail asked for.

  Persons with a Charge Proved in Scottish Courts for Alcohol-Related Offences1,2, in Grampian Police Force Area or Aberdeen Approximate Local Authority Area3, 2003-04 to 2005-06

  

 Year
 Prison
 Other Custodial
 Antisocial Behaviour Order
 Community Sentence


 Less Than 6 Months
 6 Months or More


 2003-04
 
 
 
 
 


 Grampian
 10
 3
 2
 -
 49


 Aberdeen3
 3
 2
 2
 -
 27


 2004-05
 
 
 
 
 


 Grampian
 13
 -
 3
 -
 39


 Aberdeen3
 9
 -
 2
 -
 24


 2005-06
 
 
 
 
 


 Grampian
 12
 2
 3
 -
 35


 Aberdeen3
 3
 -
 3
 -
 21



  Notes:

  1. Where main offence.

  2. Includes drunkenness offences, offences by licensed persons, other offences against liquor licensing laws, drunk whilst riding a bicycle and drunk/drug-driving offences.

  3. Incorporates an approximate mapping of sheriff courts into local authority areas. Some sheriff courts will deal with cases from more than one local authority area.

Alcohol Misuse

Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people in (a) Aberdeen and (b) Grampian were admitted to accident and emergency wards with injuries resulting from alcohol-related violence in each month from 2003 to 2007.

Shona Robison: The information requested is not held centrally.

Alcohol Misuse

Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many underage teenagers were arrested in (a) Aberdeen and (b) Grampian for committing acts of alcohol-related violence from 2003 to 2007.

Kenny MacAskill: Information on the number of arrests made by the police is not held centrally, only the number of crimes recorded. Furthermore, no information on whether or not particular crimes or incidents are "alcohol-related" is held centrally.

Child Abuse

Des McNulty (Clydebank and Milngavie) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how and where survivors of historic in-care and institutional abuse can access the appropriate services that they require to help them to recover from the effects of the physical and psychological damage caused by such abuse; when specific proposals for survivors of historic in-care and institutional abuse will be brought forward as part of the Scottish Government’s wider Survivor Scotland strategy for survivors of childhood sexual abuse, and who the providers of the services will be.

Adam Ingram: A range of national and local services are available to provide support to survivors of in-care and institutional abuse. I will announce proposals for improving the support available to survivors in due course. I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-7290 on 13 December 2007. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at Questions & Answers Search .

Class Sizes

Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of primary 1 to 3 pupils in Aberdeen city primary schools were in class sizes of (a) 18 and under, (b) 19 to 25, (c) 26 to 30 and (d) over 30 in each school year from 2003-04 to 2007-08.

Adam Ingram: Information for the 2007 census is due to be published on 26 February. Data for the previous years are shown in the following table

  Percentage of P1-P3 Pupils in Aberdeen City Primary Schools, by Size of Class

  

 
 2003
 2004
 2005
 2006


 0-18
 10
 13
 12
 17


 19-25
 67
 64
 66
 61


 26-30
 22
 22
 22
 22


 over 30
 2
 0
 0
 0

Culture

Malcolm Chisholm (Edinburgh North and Leith) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive in what ways it interferes with decisions of the Scottish Arts Council (SAC), other than instructing the SAC to end its support of cultural co-ordinators.

Linda Fabiani: The Scottish Government does not interfere with the operational decisions of the Scottish Arts Council (SAC), which are the responsibility of the joint board of SAC and Scottish Screen. Where SAC implement national cultural initiatives on behalf of the Scottish Government, as is the case in relation to the Cultural Co-ordinators in Scottish Schools (CCiSS) Initiative, the government works in partnership with SAC to design the means of implementation and evaluation. Money for the implementation of such initiatives is provided to SAC as a "restricted fund", which may be used only for the initiative in question, as is the case in relation to CCiSS. The detailed operation of such initiatives is, however, also a matter for SAC.

Diabetes

Margaret Curran (Glasgow Baillieston) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what measures of diabetes-related hospital admissions rates and bed days will be used in order to assess its HEAT target.

Nicola Sturgeon: As outlined in the Better Health, Better Care: Action Plan, one of the 2008-09 HEAT targets is "To achieve agreed reductions in the rates of hospital admissions and bed days of patients with primary diagnosis of COPD, Asthma, Diabetes or CHD, from 2006-07 to 2010-11".

  Information relating to all in-patients and day cases discharged from non-obstetric and non-psychiatric specialties is collected via the SMR01 episode-based patient record.

  The data collected on the SMR01 record includes patient identifiable and demographic details, episode management details and general clinical information. Diagnoses are recorded using the International Classification of Diseases 10th revision (ICD-10).

  A range of information such as waiting time for in-patient/day case admission and length of stay may be derived from the SMR01 record and can be aggregated to allow analysis at NHS board level.

  Within Local Delivery Plans (LDPs), performance against this target will be measured using information on the number of hospital episodes per 100,000 population for the specified long-term conditions. The number of bed days will also be considered.

Domestic Abuse

Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people in (a) Aberdeen, (b) Grampian and (c) Angus were convicted on charges related to domestic violence in (i) 2002, (ii) 2003, (iii) 2004, (iv) 2005, (v) 2006 and (vi) 2007.

Kenny MacAskill: In 2005-06 in Aberdeen, Grampian and Angus areas there were 18, 39 and 73 persons respectively, with a charge proved in Scottish courts where a domestic abuse aggravator has been recorded. Figures in Aberdeen and Angus are presented on an approximate local authority basis, while Grampian figures are presented on a police force basis. 2005-06 is the first year where it has been considered that the use and recording of domestic abuse aggravator codes from the Scottish Government Court Proceedings Database has been of sufficient coverage to be used.

Domestic Abuse

Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many incidents of domestic violence were reported to Grampian Police in (a) 2002, (b) 2003, (c) 2004, (d) 2005, (e) 2006 and (f) 2007.

Mr Kenny MacAskill: The available information is given in the following table.

  Incidents of Domestic Abuse Recorded by the Police in Grampian, 2001-02 to 2006-07

  

  
 Year Recorded


 2001-02
 2002-03
 2003-04
 2004-05
 2005-06
 2006-07


 Grampian
 3,934
 4,128
 4,269
 4,373
 3,560
 3,137

Education

Rhona Brankin (Midlothian) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what total amount was allocated to the National Priorities Action Fund in each year from 2003 to 2007 and what percentage of the budget for children and young people this represented.

Adam Ingram: Whilst local government had flexibility to allocate other resources to this area, the specific amounts allocated to local government from the National Priority Action Fund from 2003 to 2007 were as follows:

  2003-04: £128.1 million

  2004-05: £144.8 million

  2005-06: £191.4 million

  2006-07: £236.9 million.

  Some spending on children and young people will have been subsumed within budgets that covered services to people of all ages – e.g. community health – and as such, it is not possible to identify the total budget for children and young people over this period. It is not therefore possible to present spending from the National Priorities Action Fund as a percentage of the budget for children and young people.

Education

Rhona Brankin (Midlothian) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what total amount is being allocated for additional teachers for early years in each year from 2007 to 2011 and what percentage of the budget for children and young people this represents.

Adam Ingram: Whilst local government had flexibility to allocate other resources to this area, the specific amounts allocated to local government for additional teachers (Information on what total amount was allocated for additional teachers for early years is not available separately) in 2007 and 2008 was:

  2007-08: £50.3 million – Funding for additional teachers for the previous administration’s commitments to reduce class sizes in P1 to 25 and S1/S2 maths and English classes to 20. In addition, a further £6 million was allocated by this government as part year costs to enable local authorities to employ additional teachers in early years and for class size reduction in primary 1 to primary 3.

  2008-09: Prior to the local government finance settlement and at the same time as the £6 million was announced, funding of £3 million in addition to the £6 million was announced for the same purpose to be allocated from financial year 2008-09.

  For 2008-09 onwards, all of this funding will now be included in the overall local government finance settlement. It will be the responsibility of each local authority, in conjunction with their community planning partners, to allocate the funding on the basis of their local needs and priorities – having first fulfilled its statutory obligations and the agreed set of national outcomes including the Scottish Government’s key strategic objective and the full terms of the concordat. Further details on these new arrangements can be found in the Scottish Budget Report and related concordat with local authorities. Copies of both documents are available in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 44076 and 44077 respectively).

Education

Rhona Brankin (Midlothian) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what total amount was allocated for continuing professional development (CPD) for teachers in each year from 2003 to 2007 and what percentage of the budget for children and young people this represented.

Adam Ingram: Whilst local government had flexibility to allocate other resources to this area, the specific amounts allocated to local government for CPD provision for teachers (in respect of co-ordinating activity, building a local framework and budgeting for individual teachers’ plans) from 2003 to 2007 were as follows:

  2003-04: £14.0 million

  2004-05: £13.5 million

  2005-06: £13.5 million*

  2006-07: £13.5 million*

  *Paid via the National Priorities Action Fund.

  Some spending on children and young people will have been subsumed within budgets that covered services to people of all ages – e.g. community health – and as such, it is not possible to identify the total budget for children and young people over this period. It is not therefore possible to present spending on continuing professional development as a percentage of the budget for children and young people.

Education

Rhona Brankin (Midlothian) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what total amount is being allocated for continuing professional development (CPD) for teachers in each year from 2007 to 2011 and what percentage of the budget for children and young people this represents.

Adam Ingram: Whilst local government had flexibility to allocate other resources to this area, the specific amount allocated to local government for CPD provision for teachers (in respect of co-ordinating activity, building a local framework and budgeting for individual teachers’ plans) in 2007-08 was £13.5 million. This was allocated through the National Priorities Action Fund.

  For future years, this funding will be included within the overall local government finance settlement. It will be the responsibility of each local authority, in conjunction with their community planning partners, to allocate the funding on the basis of their local needs and priorities – having first fulfilled its statutory obligations and the agreed set of national outcomes, including the Scottish Government’s key strategic objectives and the full terms of the concordant. Further details on these new arrangements can be found in the Scottish Budget Report and related concordant with local authorities. Copies of both documents are available in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. numbers 44076 and 44077 respectively).

Education

Rhona Brankin (Midlothian) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what total amount was allocated for improving discipline in schools in each year from 2003 to 2007 and what percentage of the budget for children and young people this represented.

Maureen Watt: Whilst local government had flexibility to allocate other resources to this area, the specific amounts allocated to local government for improving discipline and school ethos from 2003 to 2007 were as follows:

  2003-04: £29.5 million

  2004-05: £29.5 million

  2005-06: £29.5 million

  2006-07: £29.5 million.

  In addition, £35 million was allocated over three years (from 2005-06) to fund additional support staff to free teachers to teach, help pupils to learn undisturbed, and help deal intensively with those pupils who need it most.

  Some spending on children and young people will have been subsumed within budgets that covered services to people of all ages - e.g. community health – and as such, it is not possible to identify the total budget for children and young people over this period. It is not therefore possible to present this as a percentage of the budget for children and young people.

Education

Rhona Brankin (Midlothian) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what total amount was allocated for additional support staff in schools in each year from 2003 to 2007 and what percentage of the budget for children and young people this represented.

Adam Ingram: Whilst local government had flexibility to allocate other resources to this area, the specific amounts allocated to local government for the provision of additional support staff from 2003-07 were as follows:

  2003-04: £86 million unhypothecated through GAE

  2004-05: £86 million unhypothecated through GAE

  2005-06: £93.5 million including £86 million unhypothecated through GAE

  2006-07: £97.3 million including £86 million unhypothecated through GAE

  2007-08: £103.1 million including £86 million unhypothecated through GAE.

  Some spending on children and young people will have been subsumed within budgets that covered services to people of all ages – e.g. community health – and as such, it is not possible to identify the total budget for children and young people over this period. It is not therefore possible to present spending on additional support staff as a percentage of the budget for children and young people.

Education

Rhona Brankin (Midlothian) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what total amount is being allocated for additional support staff in schools in each year from 2007 to 2011 and what percentage of the budget for children and young people this represents.

Adam Ingram: Whilst local government had flexibility to allocate other resources to this area, the specific amount allocated to local government for the provision of additional support staff in 2007-08 was £103.1 million, which comprises of £86 million unhypothecated in GAE and £17.1 million allocated through the National Priorities Action Fund (NPAF) to improve discipline and behaviour in schools.

  For future years, £86 million will continue to be available to local authorities in GAE. The distribution of the £17.1 million in 2007-08 is the final instalment of the three year grant to assist schools and local authorities improve discipline and behaviour in schools.

Education

Joe FitzPatrick (Dundee West) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to support local authorities in providing additional support for learning needs.

Adam Ingram: The Scottish Government has taken a significant number of steps to support local authorities in providing additional support for learning needs including the following:

  Providing local government in Scotland with record levels of funding over the period covered by the spending review 2008-11. The vast majority of the funding will be provided by means of a block grant. It is the responsibility of each local authority to allocate the total financial resources available to it on the basis of local needs and priorities having first fulfilled its statutory obligations and the jointly agreed set of national and local priorities including the Scottish Government’s key strategic objectives.

  A code of practice was produced to provide guidance to local authorities and other agencies on carrying out their functions under the Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004.

  In 2007-08, the funding made available through education GAE is £4.2 billion; this figure includes £273 million for provision for special educational needs.

  In 2007-08, providing £44.7 million specifically for the implementation of the Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004 (£12.5 million); inclusion of pupils with additional support needs and disabilities in mainstream schools (£25 million), and the training and development of staff working with pupils with additional support needs and disabilities (£7.2 million).

European Year of Intercultural Dialogue 2008

Irene Oldfather (Cunninghame South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has applied for European Commission funding to promote European Year of Intercultural Dialogue 2008.

Linda Fabiani: The Scottish Government has not applied for European Commission funding to promote the European Year of Intercultural Dialogue 2008 (EYID). We have taken steps to promote the initiative though our cultural agencies and the local authorities. However, the Office of the European Commission in Edinburgh has indicated that it has set aside a small budget for promoting EYID in Scotland.

Fisheries

Rhoda Grant (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether there have been any criminal prosecutions as a result of the Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries (Consolidation) (Scotland) Act 2003 and, if so, how many.

Kenny MacAskill: The Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries (Consolidation) (Scotland) Act 2003 came into force on 1 April 2005. Three persons were proceeded against in Scottish courts for offences under this act in 2005-06, the latest year for which data are available.

Fisheries

Rhoda Grant (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to open up access to all inland waters in Scotland.

Richard Lochhead: Fishing rights are held as private heritable titles and access is, therefore, controlled by the fishery owner. A draft Strategic Framework for Scottish Freshwater Fisheries was published for consultation in September 2007, with a closing date for responses of 4 January 2008. Among the priorities for action contained within the proposals are examination of access and protection issues, promotion of angling in Scotland and broadening social inclusion in the sport.

Fisheries

Rhoda Grant (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it intends to take to reverse the decline in west coast sea trout numbers.

Richard Lochhead: The Scottish Government has for some time recognised the concerns about declining sea trout catches on the west coast. Through our agency, Fisheries Research Services, the Shieldaig Sea Trout Project was set up in 1998 to address these issues. The project operates in partnership with the Loch Torridon Area Management Group, part of the Scottish Government’s Tripartite Working Group, to identify the causes of the decline in sea trout numbers on the west coast. The causes are likely to be complex and multi-factorial. The project is currently developing and testing restoration techniques. Improvements in marine survival have continued, and results from the Shieldaig Sea Trout Project for 2006-07 saw increased numbers of mature fish returning to spawn.

Football

Lewis Macdonald (Aberdeen Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what funding might be available to support the development of a youth academy as part of a football stadium redevelopment or new build.

Stewart Maxwell: The Scottish Government, in partnership with the Scottish Football Association, local authorities and support from the lottery have committed to the Action Plan for Youth Football with a total funding package of £31 million over 10 years.

  The Scottish Football Association employs six Scottish FA regional managers and 46 Football Development Officers based around Scotland. The role of the regional managers is to deliver the Action Plan for Youth Football, co-ordinating the local planning and delivery of initiatives and assisting other partner groups to deliver opportunities for increased participation and volunteer support.

  Any additional funding to support the development of a youth academy would be a matter for the Scottish FA to consider in conjunction with the implementation managers.

Higher Education

Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive when and to whom the Joint Future Thinking Taskforce on Universities will report.

Fiona Hyslop: The intention is for the final meeting of the taskforce to take place in June. The taskforce will report as soon as is feasible after that meeting. I expect the outcomes to be reported to the Scottish Government’s Cabinet, amongst others and I would also expect our work to be published in due course. In addition, I plan to keep members of the further and higher education roundtable updated with its progress.

Higher Education

Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Joint Future Thinking Taskforce on Universities will consider the use of student contributions towards university funding.

Fiona Hyslop: The government is firmly committed to access to higher education being based on the ability to learn rather than the ability to pay. The issue of student contributions is excluded from the scope of the taskforce.

Higher Education

Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive why student representatives are not part of the membership of the Joint Future Thinking Taskforce on Universities.

Fiona Hyslop: A wide ranging review which might take years to produce results is not appropriate in this case. Membership of the taskforce has deliberately been restricted to the government, university principals and the chair of the Scottish Funding Council to ensure a short, sharp exercise that produces tangible outputs.

  The government does not see the taskforce’s identification of challenges and next steps as being the end of the process. There will be an opportunity for wider engagement with a range of stakeholders beyond this. In particular, NUS and CHESS have been specifically asked to provide an input to the next meeting in February. I also intend to discuss the student perspective at an event in the spring.

Housing

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many landlords have been refused registration under the National Registration Scheme for Private Landlords, broken down by local authority area.

Stewart Maxwell: The Scottish Government recognises that the vast majority of landlords operate lawfully. No applications for registration have been rejected yet, but several local authorities are taking enforcement action where there are concerns. This may involve the landlord being invited to an interview with a panel of officials to discuss those concerns, or a hearing before the relevant council committee.

Housing

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how it can be assured of the validity and accuracy of electronic data in applications relating to the National Registration Scheme for Private Landlords.

Stewart Maxwell: Both online and paper applications require applicants to declare that the information provided is correct. Applicants are also informed that it is a criminal offence to give false information in an application for registration.

  If an applicant is found to have knowingly provided false information or has knowingly failed to provide the required information in an application form then enforcement sanctions are available to the local authority to take action. This may include referring the case to the Procurator Fiscal or refusing to register the applicant.

Housing

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many landlords have registered under the National Registration Scheme for Private Landlords, broken down by local authority.

Stewart Maxwell: The following table shows the number of applications for registration by private landlords and letting agents received by each local authority and the number of applications approved, as at 7 January 2008. Landlords and agents are required to register in each authority where they own or manage property, so these figures include multiple registrations for some individuals or organisations.

  

 Local Authority
 Registrations Approved
 Total Applications Received


 Aberdeen City
 2,958
 8,833


 Aberdeenshire
 1,316
 3,729


 Angus
 1,520
 1,941


 Argyll and Bute
 1,394
 1,966


 Clackmannanshire
 527
 698


 Dumfries and Galloway
 2,684
 2,968


 Dundee City
 1,116
 3,522


 East Ayrshire
 1,108
 1,694


 East Dunbartonshire
 475
 1,027


 East Lothian
 1,233
 1,987


 East Renfrewshire
 752
 938


 Edinburgh, City of
 12,790
 22,854


 Eilean Siar
 36
 375


 Falkirk
 1,440
 1,866


 Fife
 2,705
 6,188


 Glasgow City
 6,577
 12,978


 Highland
 440
 4,435


 Inverclyde
 496
 1,125


 Midlothian
 443
 990


 Moray
 1,033
 1,497


 North Ayrshire
 579
 1,701


 North Lanarkshire
 1,727
 2,611


 Orkney Islands
 795
 829


 Perth and Kinross
 1,065
 3,256


 Renfrewshire
 1,174
 2,071


 Scottish Borders, The
 2,608
 2,769


 Shetland Islands
 127
 276


 South Ayrshire
 784
 1,970


 South Lanarkshire
 3,849
 4,015


 Stirling
 1,046
 2,110


 West Dunbartonshire
 595
 737


 West Lothian
 1,218
 2,485


 Total
 56,610
 106,441

Housing

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many landlords have been prosecuted for providing false information in applications for registration under the National Registration Scheme for Private Landlords.

Stewart Maxwell: No landlords have been prosecuted for providing false information in applications for registration under the National Registration Scheme for Private Landlords.

Housing

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether all applications for registration under the National Registration Scheme for Private Landlords require to be made on a signed application form.

Stewart Maxwell: Applicants to the National Registration Scheme for Private Landlords can apply online or can request a paper application form from their local authority. Both online and paper applications require applicants to declare that the information provided is correct. Paper applications are signed, online applications are not.

  It is an offence under section 83(4) of the Antisocial Behaviour etc (Scotland) Act 2004 knowingly to provide false information or fail to provide the information requested in an application for registration.

Housing

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the absence of a signed application form for registration under the National Registration Scheme for Private Landlords removes the prospect for any form of prosecution in respect of the scheme.

Stewart Maxwell: The absence of a signed application form does not remove the prospect for prosecution in respect of the scheme. Under section 83(4) of the Antisocial Behaviour etc. (Scotland) Act 2004 it is an offence knowingly to provide false information or fail to provide the information requested in an application for landlord registration. This applies to both online and paper applications.

  If it is found that a landlord has knowingly provided false information or failed to provide the required information then they can be found guilty of so doing by the courts.

Housing

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what advice, assistance and complaints investigation local authorities offer under the National Registration Scheme for Private Landlords.

Stewart Maxwell: Under the Antisocial Behaviour etc. (Scotland) Act 2004, local authorities have a duty to provide applicants for registration with general advice on what constitutes good practice in the letting of houses. If a local authority proposes to refuse an application for registration or remove a registered person from the register then it can provide further advice to the applicant or registered person on actions they may be able to take to resolve the situation including the appointment of an agent to manage the property.

  Local authorities also have a duty to provide advice and assistance to tenants where a decision is made to refuse an application for registration from a landlord, remove a landlord from the register, or serve a Rent Penalty Notice suspending liability for rent at that property.

  Finally, in addition to certain prescribed offences, a local authority can also take into account any other information it considers relevant in determining whether the landlord is fit and proper to let property. This can include complaints from tenants.

Licensing

Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) shop owners with an off-licence and (b) licensed drinking establishments in Grampian were prosecuted from 2003 to 2007 for selling alcohol to underage teenagers.

Kenny MacAskill: In Grampian police force area for the years 2003-04, 2004-05 and 2005-06 (the latest year for which data is available), four, nil, and three persons respectively were proceeded against in Scottish courts for selling alcohol to persons aged under 18 (includes the offences of sale of drink to person under 18 and wholesaler selling liquor to person under 18). A breakdown of these figures by shop owners and licensed drinking establishments is not available from the data held centrally.

Licensing

Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) shop owners with an off-licence and (b) licensed drinking establishments in each local authority area were prosecuted from 2003 to 2007 for selling alcohol to underage teenagers.

Kenny MacAskill: The information requested is given in the table below. The data held centrally cannot be broken down by shop owners and licensed drinking establishments. The latest year for which data is available is 2005-06

  Persons Proceeded Against in Scottish Courts for Selling Alcohol to Person Aged Under 181,2, by Approximate Local Authority Area3, 2003-04 to 2005-06

  

 Local Authority
 2003-04
 2004-05
 2005-06


 Aberdeen City 
 3
 -
 3


 Aberdeenshire 
 -
 -
 -


 Angus 
 -
 -
 -


 Argyll and Bute 
 -
 -
 -


 Clackmannanshire 
 -
 3
 1


 Dumfries and Galloway
 2
 3
 6


 Dundee City 
 5
 -
 -


 East Ayrshire 
 3
 5
 4


 East Dunbartonshire
 -
 2
 -


 East Lothian 
 -
 -
 2


 East Renfrewshire 
 -
 -
 -


 Edinburgh, City of 
 3
 5
 5


 Eilean Siar
 -
 -
 -


 Falkirk 
 4
 2
 4


 Fife 
 5
 1
 -


 Glasgow City 
 3
 7
 7


 Highland 
 -
 1
 2


 Inverclyde 
 1
 -
 -


 Midlothian 
 -
 2
 1


 Moray 
 1
 -
 -


 North Ayrshire 
 1
 -
 -


 North Lanarkshire 
 -
 -
 1


 Orkney Islands 
 3
 -
 -


 Perth and Kinross 
 -
 -
 1


 Renfrewshire 
 5
 3
 -


 Scottish Borders 
 -
 2
 4


 Shetland Islands 
 -
 3
 -


 South Ayrshire 
 4
 -
 9


 South Lanarkshire 
 1
 8
 17


 Stirling 
 2
 3
 2


 West Dunbartonshire 
 2
 -
 1


 West Lothian 
 -
 -
 -


 Scotland 
 48
 50
 70



  Notes:

  1. Where main offence.

  2. Includes the offences of sale of drink to person under 18 and wholesaler selling liquor to person under 18.

  3. Incorporates an approximate mapping of sheriff courts into local authority areas. Some sheriff courts will deal with cases from more than one local authority area. Some local authority areas, including East Dunbartonshire, East Renfrewshire, Midlothian and North Ayrshire, do not contain a sheriff court.

NHS Hospitals

Hugh Henry (Paisley South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what car parking charges were applied at each hospital as at April 2007.

Nicola Sturgeon: Minimum and maximum daily charges to park at hospital sites in Scotland where car parking charges were applied at April 2007 were as follows:

  

 NHS Board
 Hospital
 Car Park Daily Charge*


 NHS Highland
 Raigmore Hospital
Min: £1.00Max: £1.00


 NHS Grampian
Aberdeen Royal InfirmaryAberdeen Maternity HospitalRoyal Aberdeen Children’s HospitalDr Gray’s Hospital
Min: £0.50Max: £5.00Min: £0.50Max: £5.00Min: £0.50Max: £5.00Min: £1.00Max: £5.00


 NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde
 Glasgow Royal Infirmary
Min: £1.10Max: £25.20


 NHS Lothian
New Royal Infirmary of EdinburghSt John’s Hospital at HowdenWestern General Hospital
Min: £1.20Max: £7.00Min: £1.00Max: £1.00Min: £1.00Max: £7.00


 NHS Tayside
Ninewells HospitalPerth Royal Infirmary
Min: £1.60Max: £1.60Min: £1.20Max: £1.60



  Note: *Information provided by NHSScotland boards.

  Decisions to introduce and set parking charges before April 2007 were matters for health boards as part of their overall policy on managing car parks.

  Concessions and free parking for certain groups of staff, patients and visitors continue to be available at all hospital sites in Scotland.

Pre-School Education

Karen Gillon (Clydesdale) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how much was allocated to South Lanarkshire Council for 2007-08 to provide nursery places to vulnerable two-year-olds and how much will be allocated to it as part of the local government settlement that was previously ring-fenced for this purpose in (a) 2008-09, (b) 2009-10 and (c) 2010-11.

Karen Gillon (Clydesdale) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many vulnerable two-years-olds in the South Lanarkshire Council area have been provided with nursery places as a result of ring-fenced funding in 2007-08.

Mr Adam Ingram: No specific funding was allocated to South Lanarkshire Council for 2007-08 to provide nursery places for vulnerable two year olds. The local government finance settlement for 2008-11 sees a move away from a focus on such inputs and targets to focussing on outcomes. Single outcome agreements will be agreed with each council which will set out the local priorities for each area. Record levels of funding have been invested in local government over 2008-11 to help them work towards the agreed priorities.

Police

Joe FitzPatrick (Dundee West) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what services are funded from the Police Support Services budget.

Kenny MacAskill: This budget funds a wide range of police services, including those provided by the Scottish Police Services Authority, which directly support or complement front line policing. These services include the Scottish Crime and Drug enforcement agency, other specialist policing activities such as national support for Scotland’s counter-terrorism capability, forensic science services, police training and development, criminal records and international policing.

Police

Joe FitzPatrick (Dundee West) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what services are funded from the Police Information and Communications budget.

Kenny MacAskill: The Police Information and Communications budget funds the development and maintenance of both Scottish and UK-wide information and communication technology (ICT) systems to support operational policing in Scotland. The budget covers the Scottish contribution to UK wide systems including the framework contract for the Airwave radio system, the Police National Computer and joint development of other national systems to enable police forces to share information and intelligence across the UK. The development and maintenance of Scottish systems includes the Criminal History System, custody management systems and the Automatic Number-plate Recognition System.

Police

Pauline McNeill (Glasgow Kelvin) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the liability is for police pensions in (a) 2008-09, (b) 2009-10 and (c) 2010-11, broken down by police authority.

Kenny MacAskill: The forecast liability for police pensions depends on assumptions about the numbers of police officers who actually retire when they are entitled to assumptions made about police rates of pay and estimates of pension entitlements. As a result, the forecasts can vary quite widely. The latest estimates provided by the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland (ACPOS) for the total pensions liability for 2008-09 are as follows:

  

 Central Scotland Police
£8.5 million


 Dumfries and Galloway Constabulary 
£4.5 million


 Fife Police
£10.5 million


 Grampian Police
£13.0 million


 Lothian and Borders Police
£35.1 million


 Northern Constabulary
£8.7 million


 Strathclyde Police
£100.6 million


 Tayside Police
£17.1 million



  A similar breakdown is not available for future years but ACPOS estimate the total liability to be £232 million in 2009-10 and £215 million in 2010-11.

  As the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Development announced in his statement to Parliament on 14 December, funding for police pensions is included within the overall Local Government Settlement.

Police

Lewis Macdonald (Aberdeen Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to the first supplementary to question S3O-1864 by Kenny MacAskill on 10 January 2008 in which he stated that "The projected figures are for the recruitment in Grampian of an additional 150 officers in 2008 and an additional 52 in 2009. There will be a further 28 officers as a result of the additional Government funding. Accordingly, Mr Rumbles can rest assured that Grampian Police will recruit a total of 230 officers over the period 2007 to 2009." ( Official Report c.4924), what it anticipates the number of Grampian police officers will be in each of the next three years and whether it will make a ministerial statement on the matter.

Lewis Macdonald (Aberdeen Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to the third supplementary to question S3F-427 by Alex Salmond on 17 January 2008 in which he cited a report in the Press and Journal of 9 January 2008 that an additional 60 officers will join Grampian Police during the next financial year ( Official Report , c.5190), what it anticipates the number of Grampian police officers will be in each of the next three years and whether it will make a ministerial statement on the matter.

Kenny MacAskill: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-8462 on 24 January 2008. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at Questions & Answers Search .

Police

Lewis Macdonald (Aberdeen Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the meeting of Grampian Joint Police Board on 11 January 2008 and the report in the Press and Journal on 12 January 2008 that the Chief Constable of Grampian Police stated that, as a consequence of police pensions underfunding, "the worst case scenario could be a reduction in police numbers", what adjustment it will make in projections of police numbers in Grampian; what it anticipates the shortfall in police pension funding will be for Grampian in each of the next three financial years, and whether it will make a ministerial statement on the matter.

Kenny MacAskill: The recruitment and deployment of police officers in Grampian is a matter for the Chief Constable of Grampian Police and it is for him to consider the projections of police numbers in Grampian with the Grampian Joint Police Board whose convener has announced that the force is on track to have unprecedented numbers of officers.

  As the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Development announced in his statement to Parliament on 13 December, funding for police pensions is included within the local authority funding settlement under the concordat with COSLA. It is for police boards to negotiate budgets with their constituent local authorities.

Prison Service

John Wilson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether there has been any revision to the performance thresholds in the contract for prisoner escort duties with Reliance.

Kenny MacAskill: I have asked Mike Ewart, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  There have been no revisions to the minimum threshold standards within the PECCS contract.

Prison Service

John Wilson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has made any revisions to the financial penalties for breach of performance thresholds in the contract for prisoner escort duties with Reliance.

Kenny MacAskill: I have asked Mike Ewart, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  The term "financial penalties" is not used in the contract. Service credits are applied where performance failure occurs. The minimum threshold standard is effectively the cap or the maximum number of failures that will be taken in to account in any given month for the calculation of the service credit.

  There has been no revisions to the contract in relation to either service credits or the minimum threshold standards.

Prison Service

John Wilson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has made any revisions to the volume bandings at which prisoner movements are reimbursed in the contract for prisoner escort duties with Reliance.

Kenny MacAskill: I have asked Mike Ewart, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to respond. His response is as follows:

  Additional bandings have been added to reflect the increased volume of prisoner movements. The contract variation is available on the SPS website.

  http://www.sps.gov.uk/default.aspx?documentid=24887896-f880-4764-8fa5-c529c7612e97.

Prison Service

John Wilson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the contract awarded to Reliance for prisoner escort duties is still operating to the original budget set.

Kenny MacAskill: I have asked Mike Ewart, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  Expenditure to date has been within the agreed annual budget each year since the contract went live.

Prison Service

John Wilson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether any variance has been made to the budget for prisoner escort duties and, if so, when the variance was agreed; how much extra expenditure is projected to the end of 2011-12, and how many prisoner movements the revised estimates envisage in (a) 2008-09, (b) 2009-10, (c) 2010-11 and (d) 2011-12.

Kenny MacAskill: I have asked Mike Ewart, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to respond. His response is as follows:

  To date, there has been no variations to the annual budget set by SPS for this contract.

  In determining any additional expenditure, I would refer the member to response to S3W-8577 on 29 January 2008. The budget is based on the actual volume data for the previous calendar year, we have no estimates beyond fiscal year 2008-09 and would not anticipate any additional expenditure.

  To date, prisoner movement data indicates that total prisoner movements have varied between 177-198,000 movements per year.

  All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at Questions & Answers Search.

Prison Service

Hugh Henry (Paisley South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what funding method will be used to finance the building of the proposed new prison in the north east of Scotland.

Kenny MacAskill: I have asked Mike Ewart, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  The new prison in the northeast will be procured using conventional public sector procurement methods. The government has made financial provision in the Spending Review 2007 to support this procurement.

Sport

Mr Frank McAveety (Glasgow Shettleston) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when it will publish the responses it received to the internal review it carried out on the future of sportscotland.

Stewart Maxwell: We have contacted the stakeholders involved with the review seeking permission to release all available correspondence subject to freedom of information legislation.

Sport

Mr Frank McAveety (Glasgow Shettleston) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions took place with the Chair of the Scottish Institute of Sport prior to the ministerial announcement on 9 January 2008 relating to its future.

Stewart Maxwell: Prior to the ministerial announcement on 9 January 2008 the Scottish Government had discussions with the Chair of the Scottish Institute of Sport via email exchanges. In addition the Minister for Communities and Sport met Mr Donnelly on 22 November 2007 to discuss the future of the Scottish Institute of Sport.

Sport

Mr Frank McAveety (Glasgow Shettleston) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions took place with the Chair of sportscotland prior to the ministerial announcement on 9 January 2008 relating to its future.

Stewart Maxwell: Prior to the ministerial announcement on 9 January 2008, the Scottish Government held meetings with Ms Bracewell to discuss the future of sportscotland.

Sport

Mr Frank McAveety (Glasgow Shettleston) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive which individuals at the Scottish Institute of Sport (SIS) were consulted prior to the ministerial announcement on 9 January 2008 that SIS would be merged with sportscotland under one board.

Stewart Maxwell: The Scottish Government consulted the Executive Director and the Chair of the Scottish Institute of Sport, on the merger, prior to the ministerial announcement on 9 January 2008.

Sport

Mr Frank McAveety (Glasgow Shettleston) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions took place with the board of the Scottish Institute of Sport about its abolition prior to the ministerial announcement on 9 January 2008.

Stewart Maxwell: Prior to the ministerial announcement on 9 January 2008 the Scottish Government had discussions directly with Executive Director Mr Mike Whittingham at a series of meetings.

  To ensure consistency the Scottish Government contacted the Chief Executives of both sportscotland and the Scottish Institute of Sport when seeking views and opinions, and in order to discuss the future of the organisations.

Sport

Mr Frank McAveety (Glasgow Shettleston) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many of the responses to its internal review on the future of sportscotland called for the absorption of the Scottish Institute of Sport into sportscotland.

Stewart Maxwell: The majority of responses called for the retention of a single national agency for sport, a simplification of the delivery structures and identified concerns over duplication and integration. More specifically a number of the major Commonwealth and Olympic sports currently within the institute system, identified a much closer working relationship was required.

Sport

Mr Frank McAveety (Glasgow Shettleston) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when the decision was made to remove the Chairs of sportscotland and the Scottish Institute of Sport from their posts.

Stewart Maxwell: Once the decision had been made to merge sportscotland and the Scottish Institute of Sport into one organisation it was always intended that the two chairs would be asked to stand down. It was however not appropriate to have those discussions prior to the formal announcement made to Parliament on 9 January 2008.

  Both chairs were informed on 15 January 2008 of the decision to appoint a chair to the newly merged organisation through the public appointments process and they were asked to stand down with effect from 15 February 2008.

Sport

Mr Frank McAveety (Glasgow Shettleston) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what consultation the Minister for Communities and Sport undertook before making the decision to ask the Chairs of sportscotland and the Scottish Institute of Sport to resign.

Stewart Maxwell: Once the decision had been made to merge the organisations into a single body under one board, it was obvious only one chair would be required.

  It was always intended to ask both chairs to stand down.

Sport

Mr Frank McAveety (Glasgow Shettleston) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive why the announcement to remove the chairs of sportscotland and the Scottish Institute of Sport from their posts was not included in the ministerial statement on 9 January 2008.

Stewart Maxwell: It was always intended that the chairs of both organisations would stand down, however it was not appropriate to have those discussions prior to the ministerial announcement on 9 January 2008.

  Both chairs were informed on 15 January 2008 of the decision to appoint a chair to the newly merged organisation through the public appointments process and they were asked to stand down with effect from 15 February 2008.

Sport

Mr Frank McAveety (Glasgow Shettleston) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when the proposed merger of the boards of sportscotland and the Scottish Institute of Sport will take effect.

Stewart Maxwell: It is intended that the separate company that is currently the Scottish Institute of Sport will cease to exist after the 31 March 2008.

  There are three vacancies arising on the sportscotland board this year. These vacancies will be filled under the auspices of the Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointments in Scotland (OCPAS). The process to fill these positions must therefore comply with OCPAS’s Code of Practice. This is an open process and anybody who has the abilities, the skills, the talents can apply for that job and it is anticipated will take about three to four months to complete.

  However, it is important that we add expertise from the institute board to the sportscotland board and therefore it is intended to co-opt three members with immediate effect.

Sport

Mr Frank McAveety (Glasgow Shettleston) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive who will be involved in selecting an appropriate candidate for the position of Chair of the newly merged board of sportscotland and the Scottish Institute of Sport.

Stewart Maxwell: Sportscotland in its capacity as a non-departmental public body falls under the auspices of the Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointments in Scotland (OCPAS). The process to fill the position of chair must therefore comply with OCPAS’s Code of Practice. This is an open process and anybody who has the abilities, the skills, the talents can apply for the job.

  The selection panel will consist of an independent OCPAS assessor and the Director General and Director of Health Directorate.

Sport

Mr Frank McAveety (Glasgow Shettleston) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when an interim Chair will be selected to oversee the merger of the boards of sportscotland and the Scottish Institute of Sport.

Stewart Maxwell: The arrangements for the appointment of a vice chair is a matter for sportscotland.

  However, we have agreed with sportscotland that it will appoint a vice chair from its board members at its next meeting scheduled on 6 February.

  The vice chair will act as interim chair when the current chair stands down on 15 February.

Sport

Mr Frank McAveety (Glasgow Shettleston) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when a new full-time Chair of the merged boards of sportscotland and the Scottish Institute of Sport will be in place.

Stewart Maxwell: The vacancy for the Chair of sportscotland will be advertised in the national press in the next few weeks and there is normally a minimum closing date period of four weeks. This is followed by a short-list meeting to select candidates for interview and finally the interviews themselves will take place. Once the selection panel has made their recommendations it will be sent to the cabinet secretary/minister for consideration. The process normally takes between three to four months to complete from advert date.

Student Finance

Marlyn Glen (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many full-time university students domiciled in the (a) Dundee City, (b) Angus and (c) Aberdeenshire local authority areas have been in receipt of bursaries in the most recent academic year for which figures are available.

Fiona Hyslop: The following table gives the number of full-time university students domiciled in Aberdeenshire, Angus and Dundee City local authority areas who were in receipt of bursary support from the Student Awards Agency for Scotland (SAAS) in academic year 2006-07. The total number of Scottish domiciled full-time university students in receipt of bursaries is also shown.

  

 Local Authority Area
 Number of Full-Time Students Receiving Bursary Support


 Aberdeenshire
 1,770


 Angus
 1,020


 Dundee City
 1,370


 Scotland
 42,995



  Source: Student Awards Agency for Scotland (SAAS), Scottish Government.

  In the above table a bursary refers to non-repayable student support received under any of the higher education award schemes administered by SAAS. These award schemes include: young student’s bursary, travel expenses, disabled student’s allowance, standard maintenance allowances, lone parent’s grant, Scottish Executive Health Department Bursary, lone parent’s child care grant and other smaller schemes. Students who come under the nursing and midwifery bursary scheme are not included in the table.

Teachers

Rhona Brankin (Midlothian) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what total amount was allocated to the teacher induction scheme in each year from 2003 to 2007 and what percentage of the budget for children and young people this represented.

Adam Ingram: £13 million was added to the local government finance settlement in 2003-04 in respect of the newly introduced teacher induction scheme. In addition to this ongoing funding the following amounts have been paid to local authorities.

  2003-04 - £9.4 million

  2004-05 - £9.4 million

  2005-06 - £18.1 million

  2006-07 - £29.5 million

  2007-08 - £36.1 million.

  Local government also had flexibility to allocate other resources to this area.

  Some spending on children and young people will have been subsumed within budgets that covered services to people of all ages - e.g. community health – and as such, it is not possible to identify the total budget for children and young people over period. It is not therefore possible to present spending on the teacher induction scheme as a percentage of the budget for children and young people.

Teachers

Rhona Brankin (Midlothian) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what total amount was allocated for additional teachers for early years in each year from 2003 to 2007 and what percentage of the budget for children and young people this represented.

Adam Ingram: Whilst local government had flexibility to allocate other resources to this area, the specific amounts allocated to local government for additional teachers from 2003 to 2007 were as follows (Information on what total amount was allocated for additional teachers for early years is not available separately):

  2006-07: £32.5 million - Funding for additional teachers for the previous administration’s commitments to reduce class sizes in P1 to 25 and S1/S2 maths and English classes to 20.

  2007-08: £50.3 million - Funding for additional teachers for the previous administration’s commitments to reduce class sizes in P1 to 25 and S1/S2 maths and English classes to 20. In addition a further £6m was allocated by this government as part year costs to enable local authorities to employ additional teachers in early years and for class size reduction in primary 1 to primary 3.

  Some spending on children and young people will have been subsumed within budgets that covered services to people of all ages e.g. community health – and as such, it is not possible to identify the total budget for children and young people over this period. It is not therefore possible to present spending for additional teachers for early years as a percentage of the budget for children and young people.

Voluntary Organisations

Johann Lamont (Glasgow Pollok) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what meetings have been held with the Prince’s Trust to discuss its concerns regarding changes in funding arrangements.

Jim Mather: Scottish Government officials meet regularly with representatives of the Princes Trust to discuss delivery of funding. This includes quarterly management meetings to discuss delivery of specific programmes and a number of these meetings have included discussion on future funding arrangements.

Voluntary Organisations

Jim Tolson (Dunfermline West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether all local authorities were invited to bid for money allocated under its Cashback for Communities scheme.

Jim Tolson (Dunfermline West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether community organisations, such as karate clubs, were invited to bid for money allocated under its Cashback for Communities scheme.

Jim Tolson (Dunfermline West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether all funding decisions for 2008 under its Cashback for Communities scheme have been made.

Jim Tolson (Dunfermline West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is still inviting bids from (a) local authorities, (b) non-football-based community programmes, such as karate clubs, and (c) football-based community programmes for money allocated under its Cashback for Communities scheme.

Kenny MacAskill: We are working with several organisations throughout Scotland to draw up specific proposals on how to reinvest the proceeds of crime in ways that will most benefit young people. Once this process is complete, a further announcement will be made on how these funds will be allocated, as well as the local application process. The position of local authorities as key partners will be fully reflected in these proposals.

Waste Management

Hugh O'Donnell (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how it ensures that the strategic waste fund is appropriately distributed by local authorities and not retained by them for their own use.

Richard Lochhead: The Strategic Waste Fund is being transferred to the overall Local Government Finance Settlement. We are working towards a single outcome agreement with each council. This will set the national and local outcomes for each council, to which local authorities will report on each year, as agreed in the concordat with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities.

Youth Justice

Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will launch a study into the potential for establishing a youth court in Aberdeen.

Fergus Ewing: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-8540 on 17 January 2008. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at Questions & Answers Search .